Warm-up

Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Geometry
Circles

Misha Lavrov

ARML Practice 12/08/2013

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Problems
Solutions

Warm-up problems
1

A circular arc with radius 1 inch is rocking back and forth on a

flat table. Describe the path traced out by the tip.

A circle of radius 4 is externally tangent to a circle of radius 9.

A line is tangent to both circles and touches them at points A
and B. What is the length of AB?

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Problems
Solutions

Warm-up solutions
1

A horizontal line 1 inch above the table.

Let X and Y be the centers of the circle. Lift AB to XZ as in

the diagram below.

Y
X

Z
A

Then XY = 4 + 9 = 13, YZ = 9 4 = 5, and XZ = AB. Because

XZ 2 + YZ 2 = XY 2 , we get XZ = AB = 12.
Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Problem
Solution
Challenge

Many tangent circles

Shown below is the densest possible packing of 13 circles into a
square. If the radius of a circle is 1, find the side length of the
square.

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Problem
Solution
Challenge

Many tangent circles: Solution

p

ABC is equilateral with side

p length 2, so C is 3 units above A.
ACD is isosceles, so D isp 3 units above C , and finally Epis 2 units
above D. So AE = 2 + 2 3, and the square has side 4 + 2 3.

E
D
C
A

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Problem
Solution
Challenge

More tangent circles

For a real challenge, try eleven circles. Yes, two of those are loose.
The solution is approximately but not quite 7; you can use this to
check your answer.

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Facts
Problems
Angles inside circles: solutions

Facts about angles

Definition. We say that the measure of an arc of the circle is the
measure of the angle formed by the radii to its endpoints.

A2
A1

C
B

C2

C1

.
Theorem 1. If A, B, and C are points on a circle, ABC = 12 AC

Theorem 2. If lines from point B intersect a circle at A1 , A2 and

C1 , C2 , A1 BC1 = A2 BC2 = 12 A
2 C2 A1 C1 .
Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Facts
Problems
Angles inside circles: solutions

Angles inside circles: problems

1

A hexagon ABCDEF (not necessarily regular) is inscribed in

a circle. Prove that A + C + E = B + D + F .

In the diagram below, PA and PB are tangent to the circle

with center O. A third tangent line is then drawn,
interesecting PA and PB at X and Y . Prove that the measure
of XOY does not change if this tangent line is moved.
B
O

P
X

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Facts
Problems
Angles inside circles: solutions

Solutions
1

+ CD
+ DE
+ EF
and similarly for
By Theorem 1, A = 12 BC
other angles. If we add up such equations for A + C + E ,
+ BC
+ CD
+ DE
+ EF
+ AF
= 360 , and the same
we get AB
for B + D + F .

Let Z be the point at which XY is tangent to the circle. Then

4XAO and 4XZO are congruent, because AO = ZO,
XO = XO, and XAO = XZO = 90 . ZOX = XOA, and
both are equal to 12 ZOA. Similarly, ZOY = YOB, and
both are equal to 21 ZOB. Adding these together, we get
XOY = 12 AOB, which does not depend on the position of
the tangent line.

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Facts
Problems
Solutions

Power of a point
Theorem 3. Two lines through a point P intersect a circle at points
X1 , Y1 and X2 , Y2 respectively. Then PX1 PY1 = PX2 PY2 .
X2

X1

Y1
P

Y1
Y2

X1
P

X2

Y2

One way to think about this is that the value PX PY you get by
choosing a line through P does not depend on the choice of line,
only on P itself. This value is called the power of P.
Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Facts
Problems
Solutions

Power of a point: problems

1

Assume P is inside the circle for concreteness. Prove that

4PX1 X2 and 4PY2 Y1 are similar. Deduce Theorem 3.

Two circles (not necessarily of the same radius) intersect at

points A and B. Prove that P is a point on AB if and only if
the power of P is the same with respect to both circles.

Three circles (not necessarily of the same radius) intersect at a

total of six points. For each pair of circles, a line is drawn
through the two points where they intersect. Prove that the
three lines drawn meet at a common point, or are parallel.

Misha Lavrov

Geometry

Warm-up
Tangent circles
Angles inside circles
Power of a point

Facts
Problems
Solutions

Power of a point: solutions

1

X1 PX2 and Y1 PY2 are vertical, and therefore equal.

PX1 X 2 and PY2 Y1 both intercept arc X

2 Y1 , so they are
both equal by Theorem 1. So the triangles are similar.
PY2
1
Therefore PX
PX2 = PY1 , and we get Theorem 3 by
cross-multiplying.

If P is on AB, the line PA intersects either circle at A and B,

so the power of P is PA PB.
But if P is not on AB, the line PA does not pass through B: it
intersects one circle at X and another at Y , so the power of P
is PA PX for one circle and PA PY for the other.

If any two lines intersect, the point of intersection will have

the same power for all three circles, so it lies on all three lines
by the previous problem.
Misha Lavrov

Geometry